Chapter 574
In the imperial palace of Shangyi .
The grandeur of the palace halls was enhanced by the faint sounds of bells and drums . It was the Shang King Xin luxuriating in the singing and dancing of beautiful performers .
In the Shang ancestral temple .
The old man who was the Great Witch of the Shang examined the burnt tortoise shells in his hands and jumped up in shock .
"A crisis looms overhead . No, I must inform the King immediately!"
The Great Witch jogged to the palace, ignoring the strange looks that people gave him as he passed them . Before long, he had arrived before the palace .
"Halt!"
Two gentleman-bureaucrats stopped the Great Witch at the gates to the palace .
"The King is enjoying himself . Do not bother him!"
"Get out of my way!"
The Great Witch felt a rising anger and pushed the two men aside forcefully .
"My King, the Great Witch from the ancestral temple requests an audience with you!"
The Great Witch rushed into the palace hall and saw that musicians lined both sides of the hall while scantily-clad women gyrated to the music in the middle .
His arrival had somewhat ruined this beautiful scene .
"Ah, it's the Great Witch…"
The Shang King put down his wine cup and sat up straight . He held this man, who ran his ancestral temple and had the authority to reprimand him in the name of his ancestors, in high regard . At the same time, the Shang King was displeased with him, especially after the Great Witch had dissuaded him from personally leading the troops to war previously .
"What brings you here, Great Witch?"
"My King . . . there is trouble!"
The Great Witch bowed and presented the tortoise shells to the King .
"I have consulted the heavens about the future of the Shang Dynasty by burning these tortoise shells and ominous cracks have appeared on them . They tell of a threat approaching from the northwest that could destroy the Shang Dynasty and forever deny the past generations of Shang Kings their sacrifices and offerings!"
"What?"
The Shang King lost his temper .
"How is this possible? The Great Shang is descended from the Black Bird and is favoured by the heavens . We have tens upon thousands of chariots . Who can overthrow me?"
"Calm down, my King, calm down!"
The two gentleman-bureaucrats who had been pushed aside by the Great Witch staggered their way into the palace hall while crying .
"The Great Witch shows disregard for the rules and is spouting nonsense . Don't be angry, my King!"
"Get lost!"
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The King roared with anger when he saw that the two men were fanning the flames . He threw the aside the woman lying in his arms and swept the wine vessels and plates off his table in a fit of rage .
"Plink! Plank!"
The dinnerware fell to the floor and the sounds echoed throughout the hall .
All the women and musicians fell to their knees . None of them dared to say a word .
"Great Witch . . . you speak of a threat coming from the northwest . Of whom do you speak of?"
King Xin turned his fiery gaze to the Great Witch .
"If there is really a traitor, I will have his head . However, if the results of your divination are erroneous, I will have you roasted over a fire!"
"It's too late! Too late!"
The Great Witch began to bawl his eyes out .
"The trouble lay at Western Zhou but now, the evil star has reached Muye . It will be difficult for the Shang Dynasty to escape this calamity!"
"Muye?!"
King Xin was taken aback and remained sceptical .
"Haha . . . Muye is only a short distance away from Shangyi . What haven't I heard anything yet? Great Witch, you are too much of an alarmist!"
At this moment, a soldier rushed into the hall and fell to his knees .
"My King, we have urgent news from the northwest . Marquis Li of Western Zhou has formed an alliance of feudal lords and is marching on the Shang Dynasty with a host of 10000 . Their army has already reached Muye!"
"What?"
King Xin suddenly felt faint and swayed slightly on his feet . He never would have expected the obsequious old Marquis to pull off something like that .
"Li . . . you got me good!"
A savage look came over his face .
"Men . . . arrest Young Master Wu and cut him into pieces!"
"My King . . . Young Master Wu has disappeared!"
The soldier braced himself as he gave the reply .
"My King . . . do you still not understand? You have been leading a hedonistic lifestyle and keeping despicable people by your side . People like Yu Zhong and Kun Guo will only tell you what you want to hear and conceal important news from you . They have even received bribes in return for helping Young Master Wu make his escape!"
The Great Witch looked at the two gentleman-bureaucrats coldly .
"Spare us, my King, spare us!"
The two gentleman-bureaucrats were frightened out of their wits . They crawled over to King Xin piteously and tugged on his robe while pleading for their lives .
The King would no longer show any mercy .
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"Argh…"
King Xin roared as he aimed kicks at the two gentleman-bureaucrats, making them fly and crumple against the wall . Then, he unsheathed his sword and cut them down before bowing deeply to the Great Witch .
"Thank you for enlightening me, Great Witch . I am deeply remorseful for all that I have done before!"
The Great Witch took a long and hard look at the Shang King . As an old man who had lived his life in the palace, he could remember a time when King Xin was young and brave, humble and wise . Early in his reign, King Xin had been one of the most brilliant rulers the Shang Dynasty had ever seen .
However, in his middle age, King Xin gave himself over to drinking and women . He placed his trust in unscrupulous officials and ignored almost all affairs of state .
Now, King Xin looked like he was determined to turn over a new leaf .
"Since the enemy has already reached Muye, we shall face them head on…"
The Great Witch took in a deep breath .
"How many people are there still left in the capital?"
" . . . "
King Xin was silent for a while . When he finally spoke, it was with anguish .
"My son has taken with him the most elite soldiers as well as most of the able-bodied men in the city . . . if we have to deploy another army, the only conscripts available are the old folk, minors and slave…"
"Within Shangyi, we have enough equipment to arm a 20000-strong army!"
The Great Witch went on calmly .
"My King, are you not going to mobilise the new army and send an urgent message to Prince Pan?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do!"
King Xin nodded as he turned to the Great Witch .
"Can you be the one to send the message to my son, Great Witch?"
In fact, they were all aware that the there was no way the large Shang army could return in time from their southern expedition unless they had won an overwhelming victory over the Dongyi army and was already on the way back .
Having lost most of its elite soldiers, Shangyi was virtually defenceless and would most definitely lose!
However, King Xin was intent on letting the Great Witch survive the onslaught so that he could go on to assist his son in the future . Thus, he had proposed that the Great Witch become his messenger .
"I am old…"
The Great Witch shook his head .
"My disciples will assist Prince Pan to the best of their abilities . "
It seemed that the Great Witch had decided to stick it out with the Shang Dynasty!
"Haha . . . Great Witch, you live up to your name indeed . I have taken you for granted all these years!"
King Xin felt sober for the first time in a long time and adjusted his crown before sounding the large palace bell to mobilise the population .
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"Everyone…"
King Xin looked at the officials who were rushing to gather before him . He had a fire burning in his eyes .
"The Western Zhou state has launched an invasion on us and has already arrived at Muye . . . we will have to engage them in a fight to the death! By royal decree, induct the slaves into the army and arm them from the weapons vaults . We'll fight that traitor until the end!"
"Yes, my King!"
The nobles of the Shang Dynasty had not yet been completely corrupted by wine and women, and they immediately went into action . There was a flurry of activity as they put on their suits of armour, armed themselves with their trusty weapons and committed their slaves to the fray .
Before long, more than 10000 men had been conscripted .
"Well done!"
King Xin finally broke out into a smile .
"Follow me! We shall face the enemy beyond the city walls!"
Although the new army was made up of slaves, the old folk and other unfit personnel, it possessed a raw power of sorts and aroused a sense of pride in King Xin .
It might even be able to resist the enemy and buy more time for the Shang Dynasty .
"My King . . . we should focus on defending the city behind its walls!"
The Great Witch advised King Xin earnestly .
"Behind the city walls?"
King Xin shook his head .
"How can I appear to be weak?"
The Great Witch sighed internally . He knew that this King of his was a proud and reckless one .
Just as the Great Witch was about to offer another word of advice to the King, he felt a chill spreading throughout his entire body and saw colourful lights dancing before his eyes .
'What . . . kind of power is this?'
The Great Witch was astounded at the expansiveness and strength of this power . Also, he had been frozen to the spot .
At the same time, King Xin rode at the head of his army and led them on a charge out of the city gates towards Muye .
"This is . . . the power of the heavenly will!"
The Great Witch found that he was only able to move after the Shang army had left the city . He began to cry .
"Indeed . . . has the heavenly mandate been passed on to a new regime?"
The Great Witch finally understood that the warnings from the ancestors, the ominous results of his divination as well as the paralysis he had experienced earlier, all pointed to one conclusion .
The Shang Dynasty has lost the heavenly mandate!
The odds favoured the enemy now!
The Shang tribe had been able to rise to its current place as hegemon of the world because luck had once been on their side! Now that the Shang Dynasty was no longer favoured by the fates, what kind of future lay in store for them?
"The heavenly mandate! Heavenly mandate!"
A change came over the Great Witch's face as he ran after the Shang army .
A real man dies along with his country!
Since King Xin had made his decision, the Great Witch would not shun his destiny either!
If Fang Yuan had been there, he would have seen a wretched Black Bird flapping northwards with all its strength, carrying with it the remaining energy in Shangyi . . .
. . .
Muye .
The army of the anti-Shang alliance looked vast and mighty .
The Marquis of Western Zhou had donned his colourful suit of armour and carried a sword at his waist . He gave off an impressive aura .
"Father!"
Young Master Wu approached the Marquis and whispered into his ear .
"Prince Pan has already defeated the Dongyi army and is in the midst of returning to the Shang capital!"
"Where is the recce party?"
The Marquis looked around him furtively and asked in a low voice .
"I've detained them and kept them imprisoned in the camp!"
"Kill them!"
The Marquis issued the order coldly .
After all, the leakage of this piece of news might affect their army's morale in the face of such a major battle .
The Marquis was well aware of the true strength of his army . At face value, the host was 10000 men strong, but about half of them were made up of the rabble . These hastily conscripted soldiers were barely trained and probably would not be able to handle a complex and protracted battle!
"Yes, Father!"
Young Master Wu retreated .
A few feudal lords looked over at the Marquis questioningly .
"Haha . . . my son has brought me some news . The Shang King is preparing to make a final stand with the leftover warriors and slaves in the city!"
The Marquis took care to only reveal some of the acquired information .
"Tell the men to take up their positions in the formation and prepare to face the Shang army! Don't worry, the heavens told me that as long as we fight them at this very location, we will definitely win!"
The feudal lords had been submissive to the Shang Dynasty for too long . There was no saying how their armies might match up against the Shang army .
Still, the Marquis was confident that as long as the anti-Shang alliance conquered the Shang capital, the feudal lords would have no choice but to support his ascension to the throne!